1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to the construction arts. More particularly, it relates to a ramp that provides access for wheelchairs into a bathroom shower space.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A shower stall or space is typically separated from a bathroom by a short vertical shower curb that substantially prevents water from splashing from the shower floor onto the bathroom floor. It presents a barrier to wheelchair users. Accordingly, it is common practice to build a ramp over such a curb to provide wheelchair access to the shower.
Most construction codes include requirements that govern the slope of shower stall floors. A floor with no slope is the safest to stand upon but it has poor drainage qualities. Thus, a compromise is made between a level floor with poor drainage and a steeply sloped floor that provides good drainage but unsafe support. Most construction codes have settled upon a slope of a quarter inch of slope per lineal foot.
The size of the shower thus has an effect on any ramp structure that is built to provide wheelchair access. For example, a shower having a drain that is four feet from the shower border will have a one inch rise from the drain to the border. A shower having a drain that is six feet from the border will have a one and a half inch rise from the drain to the border. The height of the shower floor at the shower/bathroom border thus increases with distance from the drain. Since the drain is in the same horizontal plane as the bathroom floor, the shower floor will join a ramp at differing heights.
Although a ramp may be custom-built for each job, it would be advantageous for the industry to have a standard structure that could be used in every situation, ranging from very large to very small showers where the drain may be positioned far from or very close to the shower/bathroom border. The materials used to build the ramp should be strong but light-in-weight and the ramp should be adjustable in height to meet varying requirements. The descending part of the ramp, i.e., the part that descends from the highest point in the ramp to the shower floor, should have a structure that ensures there are no abrupt changes in inclination where said descending part of the ramp meets the sloped shower floor.
However, in view of the prior art taken as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill how the identified needs could be fulfilled.